Meet Polar Bear #74. She is a 12-13 year old female who spends all her time in the north-west corner of Spitsbergen. I’ve met her this season already three different times, all three times in Smeerenburgfjord. She has obviously chosen not to move too much and save energy until the ice returns this autumn. In the previous years this strategy worked well for her as she has done this for at least the past 8 years. This strategy is getting a bit more risky though, with the ice melting earlier and returning later. She looked a bit skinny already, but she looked skinny in the past years. I hope she’ll manage to find a seal or two, or maybe another whale carcass as she had a few years ago.

I really hope I’ll see her several times throughout summer and the next years. It’s always nice to see familiar faces.